Dentist

How to Find a Qualified Canadian Dentist

If you are looking for a Dentist in Canada, there are several things you need to consider. First off you need to compare different dentists, so that you know when you have found the best one. The best way to compare dentists is to look at individual pros and cons of each, and also to make sure that each one is adequately qualified for any and all operations that you may have done with them.

Any dentist that you use should have a degree in dentistry, most likely sourced from one of the ten approved dental schools in Canada: the University of Toronto, Dalhousie, British Columbia, Western Ontario, Laval, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Montreal and McGill. Obviously they could have obtained degrees from elsewhere, but the overall accreditation should be the same as that given by those universities.

The overall DDS degree is the one which most dentists will have, although being a Doctor of Dental Medicine is appropriate as well. If you want to find out which dentists have accreditation and extra qualifications to work more specialist procedures, you should make sure that they have qualifications from the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, the RCDC. The main examination that they should have passed is the National Dental Specialty Exam, the NDSE.

To know that you are going for only the most professional and efficient of dentists, look out for a Fellowship in the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, as this shows extra quality on their part. There is also accreditation which may be had between dentists of New Zealand and Canada, which allows them to work in either country.

Overall examinations are overseen by the NDEB, the National Dental Examining Board of Canada, so this should be referred to when looking into different qualifications that dentists should have, while extra accreditation is seen by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada. Dentists must be certified on both state and federal level.

It is the Royal College of Dentists of Canada who will ensure that dentists have relevant qualifications to practice specialist procedures in dentistry, and a M.Sc. or PhD is required.

There is also provincial regulation which you can look into as well, as this is required for different provinces to look into dentists as a whole, to ensure they are working as they should. There are codes of practice to be followed, and general expectations of professionalism within the workplace, so any dentist should follow these specific rules as well.

Overall any dentist you choose should be professional, and if their qualifications are not immediate then they should not be against sharing them with you – after all it is only the smart thing to do to check the individual qualifications of each practicing dentist, especially if you are looking into having specialist work done.

If you are unsure of any dentist then look around and see what competing dentists in your area offer. Compare qualifications between dentists, and if you are ever unsure of whether or not a dentist is professionally qualified enough to do work on you, then you should go to any of the accreditation boards mentioned to be certain. It is always a wise move to check if you are ever unsure, so do not waste time to take a look and see, especially if you are booked to have certain procedures done with a particular specific dentist already.

Once you have checked on qualifications, you should also consider looking on a more practical level – even if a dentist is well qualified, it does not guarantee that they are the best in their field, and so take a look around at independent review sites. This is the best way to tell whether or not a dentist is as good as they make out, as you are not relying exclusively on their website and what they say.

You should also consider talking to friends and family about who they use – there is no shame in taking your time to try and find the best long term dentist, this is an important matter to get right, as you would not want anything to go wrong in any operation involving your teeth and gums.

However overall when looking for a Canadian dentist, keep in mind the qualifications that have been mentioned here, whilst using common sense. If the dentist is friendly and has generally positive feedback from independent sources, then it is likely that you can start to use them, but make sure that you are happy with them.